Mop handle with relatively rotatable handgrips



A. ANDERSON y 2,619,368 MOP HANDLE WITH RELATIVELY ROTATABLE HANDGRIPS Nov. 25, 1952 Filed sept. 15, 1948 /N VEN TOR ANDREW ANDERSON ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 25, 1952 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE MOP HANDLE WITH RELATIVELY ROTATABLE HANDGRIPS- 3 Claims.

The present invention relates to handles for mops. brushes, and the like, and more particularly to handles of the general type including relatively rotatable parts to be grasped by the hands.

An object of the invention is to provide a handle of strong and durable construction adapted for use with a mop of theheavy-duty or industrial type and having an improved form of rotatable hand-grip member and mounting therefor, which will facilitate manipulation of the mop and avoid rubbing and blistering of the users hands.

Another object is to provide a mop handle of this type which can be inexpensively manufactured and in which the relatively rotatable parts can be adequately lubricated.

A further object is to provide a rotatable or swiveled hand-grip member which can readily be applied to conventional mop handles.

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a side view of a floor mop having a handle constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail side view of the upper end portion of the handle, parts being broken away and parts being shown in longitudinal section;

Fig. 3 is a detail transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a side view of theV upper end portion of the handle with a rotatable hand-grip mem ber thereof detached.

In the drawing, the invention is shown to be embodied in a oor mop of the heavy-duty or industrial type having a mop head I and an attached handle Il. The handle comprises a pair of coaxial cylindrical handle members I2 and I3, the former being a main handle section secured at its lower end to the mop head, and the member I3 being rotatably carried on the upper end of the main handle section and provided with a rounded end I4. The main handle section and the hand-grip member are of the same diameter and in many instances may be formed by severing a conventional wooden mop handle near its upper end. The adjacent ends of the handle members I2 and I3 have slightly reduced cylindrical parts I5 and I6, respectively, over which respective thin metal ferrules or collars I'I and i3 are tightly tted, the ferrules being ush with the cylindrical surfaces of the handle members. A bore i3 is formed coaxially in the upper end of the main handle section I2, and a similar bore 20 is formed in the lower end of the handgrip member I 3, preferably after applying the ferrules so as to avoid cracking or splintering of the wood. A metal tube or bushing 2| is tightly fitted into the bore I9, and a similar tube or bushing 22 is tightly tted into the bore 20, the exposed ends of the bushings being approximately flush with the adjacent ends of the handle members. A metal rod or pintle 23 is inserted in the handle section bushing 2| and is secured against rotation and longitudinal shifting by a metal cross pin 24 which passes diametrically through the bushing 2I and the ferrule I'I and also anchors the latter parts, the ends of the cross pin being riveted to the ferrule and being flush with the cylindrical surface of the ferrule. The pintle 23 projects from the bushing 2I and has a rotatable fit in the bushing 22 of the handgrip member. The hand-grip member is rotatably retained on the pintle by one or more headless screws 25 which are threaded radially in the hand-grip member and its ferrule and bushing and have inner ends slidably engaging in an annular groove 26 formed in the pintle, the outer ends of the screws being normally ush with or slightly below the outer surface of the ferrule. Outward pull on the hand-grip member is resisted by the abutment of the screw ends with the groove walls, and inward thrust on the handgrp member is resisted in a similar manner or by the abutment of the adjacent ends of the bushings 2| and 22. The screws 25 minimize axial shifting of the detachable hand-grip member and also prevent displacement of the ferrule I8 and bushing 22. The pintle is preferably secured in the lower of the two handle members, as shown, but in some instances this relation may be reversed.

In the use of the mop, the operator grasps the main handle section I2 with one hand and grasps the hand-grip member I3 with the other hand, the rounded end I4 of the hand-grip member presenting a thrust surface engageable by the lingers or the palm of the hand. The mop is pushed and pulled about the oor, the two handle members being free to rotate with respect to each other during this action. At intervals the mop head is ip-ped or swung over by rotating the mainhandle section, the pintle 23 then rotating in the hand-grip member. The mop can thus be vigorously manipulated without danger of rubbing or blistering the hands, and the construction is such that considerable pressures may be applied to the handle without danger of cracking the wooden parts or causing undue wear. End thrust can readily be applied to the rotatable hand-grip member I3 by the associated hand without danger of injury to this hand, as there are no relatively rotatable parts exposed at the upper end portion of this member. The pintle is suitably lubricated and can easily be exposed, as seen in Fig. 4, to permit renewal of lubricant.

While the invention is here shown to be embodied in a mop handle, it is also applicable to handles for other devices such as brushes, brooms, and garden implements.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A handle for a mop and the like, comprising relatively rotatable upper and lower wooden handle members disposed in axial alignment and having respective coaxial bores in their adjacent ends, said handle members presenting respective hand grips for the hands of a user, and said upper handle member having an upper end presenting a hand-engaging thrust surface, bushings tting tightly in said respective bores and having axially engageable adjacent ends, errules tting tightly over the adjacent ends of said members, the external diameters of said errules being substantially equal, a pintle rigidly secured in one of said bushings and having a portion rotatably iitting in the other bushing'and provided with an annular groove, and retaining means engaging in said groove and carried by the handle member receiving said grooved pintle portion.

2. A handle for a mop and the-like, comprising relatively rotatable upper and lower wooden handle members having coaxial bores in their adjacent end portions, said handle members presenting respective hand grips for the hands of a user, and said upper handle member having an upper end presenting a hand-engaging thrust surface, ferrules tightly secured about the adjacent end portions of said handle members, the external diameters of said ferrules being substantially equal, a pintle coaxially secured in one of said handle members and having a pivotforming end portion projecting into the other handle member, a bushing tightly tting in the 4 boie of said latter handle member in which said pintle end portion is journalled, said pintle end portion having an annular groove, and retaining means engaging in said groove and carried by said last-named handle member.

3. A handle for a mop and the like, comprising relatively rotatable upper and lower handle members having coaxial bores in their adjacent end portions, said handle members being in axial alignment and in endvvise thrust-transmitting abutment, and said handle members presenting respective hand grips for the hands of a user, a ferrule tightly surrounding the end portion of one of said handle members, a bushing extending coaxially in said last-named handle member, a pintle in said bushing having a pivot-forming end portion projecting into the other handle member and journalled therein, a cross pin tightly tting in said ferruled handle member and extending through said pintle and bushing and ferrule, and retaining means for holding the projecting end portion of said pintle in the other handle member.

ANDREW ANDERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 207,427 Lamboy Aug. 27, 1878 470,254 Patterson Mar. 8, 1892 737,951 McEachern Sept. l, 1903 799,176 Marble et al Sept. 12, 1905 913,056 Rounds Feb. 23, 1909 1,342,353 Schneider June 1, 1920 2,262,648 Peterson Nov. 11, 1941 2,447,080 Meier Aug. 17, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 611,921 France Oct. 13, 1926 

